John Ralston
Encyclopedia
John R. Ralston is a former American football
player, coach, and sports executive. He served as the head football coach at Utah State University
(1959–1962), Stanford University
(1963–1971), and San Jose State University
(1993–1996), compiling a career college football
record of 97–81–4. Ralson also coached the Denver Broncos
of the NFL
from 1972 to 1976, amassing a record of 34–33–3, and the Oakland Invaders
of the USFL
in 1983 and part of the 1984 season, tallying a mark of 9–12. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame
as a coach in 1992.
, Ralston and his family moved to Norway, Michigan
when he was eight years old. Upon graduating from Norway High School in 1944, he went to the University of California, Berkeley
and played linebacker
there on two Rose Bowl teams before earning his physical education
degree in 1951.
in San Lorenzo, California
, just south of Oakland. He then spent three seasons as an assistant coach at Cal from 1956–1958.
Ralston was then named head coach
at Utah State University
in 1959. In four years there, he compiled a 31–11–1 record and won Skyline Conference championships.
Ralston turned down the head coaching job at Nebraska
in 1962 before he moved to Stanford University
in 1963 and helped revive a sagging program. Over nine seasons, Ralston guided the team back to national respectability while building a mark of 55–36–3. In his last two seasons, 1970–1971, Ralston's teams won two Pacific-8 titles and notched back-to-back Rose Bowl victories over Ohio State
and Michigan
, both of whom were undefeated coming into the Rose Bowl game. Under Ralston's tutelage, Stanford quarterback
Jim Plunkett
won the Heisman Trophy
in 1970.
In 1972, Ralston departed the San Francisco Bay Area
once again, this time for the Rocky Mountains
and the Denver Broncos
. The Broncos continue to struggle under Ralston finishing with a 5–9 record in 1972. In 1973, a year which included the "Orange Monday" game played in front of a prime-time national television audience in which the Broncos came from behind to earn a tie on Jim Turner's 35-yard field goal, Ralston coached the team into first place with a 6–3–2 record. With their first winning season in franchise history under their belt and with the AFC West
title on the line, the Broncos season ended with a 21–17 loss to the Oakland Raiders
. Ralston was the UPI
's choice as AFC
Coach of the Year after Denver achieved its first-ever winning season at 7–5–2.
In 1974, Ralston coached the Broncos to a 7–6–1 record for their second consecutive winning season. The 1975 season was one of mediocre play for the Broncos as the team finished with a disappointing 6–8 record, but the following year the team improved and finished with a 9–5 record. However, the record was not good enough qualify the Broncos for the playoffs. Despite the strong showing, Broncos players issued a protest vote of no confidence in their coach and Ralston resigned following the season. In five seasons with the Broncos, Ralston guided the team to winning seasons three times and an overall record of 34–33–3.
After leaving the Broncos, Ralston held several assistant coaching jobs which included the Philadelphia Eagles
, the San Francisco 49ers
, the Toronto Argonauts
of the Canadian Football League
, and as a head coach in the USFL
with the Oakland Invaders
.
Ralston also coached in Europe
. He was the head coach of the Dutch Lions, the national football team of the Netherlands
. With the Lions, Ralston won the bronze medal in the European Championships in Helsinki, Finland in 1991.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player, coach, and sports executive. He served as the head football coach at Utah State University
Utah State University
Utah State University is a public university located in Logan, Utah. It is a land-grant and space-grant institution and is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities....
(1959–1962), Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
(1963–1971), and San Jose State University
San José State University
San Jose State University is a public university located in San Jose, California, United States...
(1993–1996), compiling a career college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
record of 97–81–4. Ralson also coached the Denver Broncos
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
of the NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
from 1972 to 1976, amassing a record of 34–33–3, and the Oakland Invaders
Oakland Invaders
Oakland Invaders was a professional American football team that played in the United States Football League from 1983 through 1985.-In reaction to the Raiders relocating to Los Angeles:...
of the USFL
United States Football League
The United States Football League was an American football league which was in active operation from 1983 to 1987. It played a spring/summer schedule in its first three seasons and a traditional autumn/winter schedule was set to commence before league operations ceased.The USFL was conceived in...
in 1983 and part of the 1984 season, tallying a mark of 9–12. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...
as a coach in 1992.
Early life, education, and playing career
Born in Oakland, CaliforniaOakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
, Ralston and his family moved to Norway, Michigan
Norway, Michigan
Norway is a city in Dickinson County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 2,959 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Iron Mountain, MI–WI Micropolitan Statistical Area....
when he was eight years old. Upon graduating from Norway High School in 1944, he went to the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
and played linebacker
Linebacker
A linebacker is a position in American football that was invented by football coach Fielding H. Yost of the University of Michigan. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up approximately three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage, behind the defensive linemen...
there on two Rose Bowl teams before earning his physical education
Physical education
Physical education or gymnastics is a course taken during primary and secondary education that encourages psychomotor learning in a play or movement exploration setting....
degree in 1951.
Coaching career
Ralston began his coaching career in 1953 at San Lorenzo High SchoolSan Lorenzo High School
San Lorenzo High School, also known as "SLZ", is a public high school located in San Lorenzo, California and is part of the San Lorenzo Unified School District. Its crosstown rival is Arroyo High School...
in San Lorenzo, California
San Lorenzo, California
San Lorenzo , also known as San Lorenzo Village is a census-designated place in Alameda County, California, United States. The population was 23,452 at the 2010 census.-Geography:...
, just south of Oakland. He then spent three seasons as an assistant coach at Cal from 1956–1958.
Ralston was then named head coach
Head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches...
at Utah State University
Utah State University
Utah State University is a public university located in Logan, Utah. It is a land-grant and space-grant institution and is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities....
in 1959. In four years there, he compiled a 31–11–1 record and won Skyline Conference championships.
Ralston turned down the head coaching job at Nebraska
University of Nebraska–Lincoln
The University of Nebraska–Lincoln is a public research university located in the city of Lincoln in the U.S. state of Nebraska...
in 1962 before he moved to Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
in 1963 and helped revive a sagging program. Over nine seasons, Ralston guided the team back to national respectability while building a mark of 55–36–3. In his last two seasons, 1970–1971, Ralston's teams won two Pacific-8 titles and notched back-to-back Rose Bowl victories over Ohio State
1970 Ohio State Buckeyes football team
The 1970 Ohio State Buckeyes football team represented the Ohio State University in the 1970 college football season. The Buckeyes compiled a 9–0 regular season record to attain a #2 ranking...
and Michigan
1971 Michigan Wolverines football team
The 1971 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1971 college football season. The team's head coach was Bo Schembechler...
, both of whom were undefeated coming into the Rose Bowl game. Under Ralston's tutelage, Stanford quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
Jim Plunkett
Jim Plunkett
James William "Jim" Plunkett is a former American football quarterback who played college football for Stanford University, where he won the Heisman Trophy, and professionally for three National Football League teams: the New England Patriots, San Francisco 49ers and Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders. ...
won the Heisman Trophy
Heisman Trophy
The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award , is awarded annually to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football. It was created in 1935 as the Downtown Athletic Club trophy and renamed in 1936 following the death of the Club's athletic director, John Heisman The Heisman Memorial...
in 1970.
In 1972, Ralston departed the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
once again, this time for the Rocky Mountains
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...
and the Denver Broncos
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
. The Broncos continue to struggle under Ralston finishing with a 5–9 record in 1972. In 1973, a year which included the "Orange Monday" game played in front of a prime-time national television audience in which the Broncos came from behind to earn a tie on Jim Turner's 35-yard field goal, Ralston coached the team into first place with a 6–3–2 record. With their first winning season in franchise history under their belt and with the AFC West
AFC West
The AFC West is a division of the National Football League's American Football Conference, currently comprising the Denver Broncos, San Diego Chargers, Kansas City Chiefs, and the Oakland Raiders.-History:...
title on the line, the Broncos season ended with a 21–17 loss to the Oakland Raiders
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
. Ralston was the UPI
United Press International
United Press International is a once-major international news agency, whose newswires, photo, news film and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines and radio and television stations for most of the twentieth century...
's choice as AFC
American Football Conference
The American Football Conference is one of the two conferences of the National Football League . This conference and its counterpart, the National Football Conference , currently contain 16 teams each, making up the 32 teams of the NFL....
Coach of the Year after Denver achieved its first-ever winning season at 7–5–2.
In 1974, Ralston coached the Broncos to a 7–6–1 record for their second consecutive winning season. The 1975 season was one of mediocre play for the Broncos as the team finished with a disappointing 6–8 record, but the following year the team improved and finished with a 9–5 record. However, the record was not good enough qualify the Broncos for the playoffs. Despite the strong showing, Broncos players issued a protest vote of no confidence in their coach and Ralston resigned following the season. In five seasons with the Broncos, Ralston guided the team to winning seasons three times and an overall record of 34–33–3.
After leaving the Broncos, Ralston held several assistant coaching jobs which included the Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
, the San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...
, the Toronto Argonauts
Toronto Argonauts
The Toronto Argonauts are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League. The Toronto, Ontario based team was founded in 1873 and is one of the oldest existing professional sports teams in North America, after the Chicago Cubs and the Atlanta...
of the Canadian Football League
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....
, and as a head coach in the USFL
United States Football League
The United States Football League was an American football league which was in active operation from 1983 to 1987. It played a spring/summer schedule in its first three seasons and a traditional autumn/winter schedule was set to commence before league operations ceased.The USFL was conceived in...
with the Oakland Invaders
Oakland Invaders
Oakland Invaders was a professional American football team that played in the United States Football League from 1983 through 1985.-In reaction to the Raiders relocating to Los Angeles:...
.
Ralston also coached in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. He was the head coach of the Dutch Lions, the national football team of the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. With the Lions, Ralston won the bronze medal in the European Championships in Helsinki, Finland in 1991.